Devin Gardner no longer in Rivals Top 100
First, sorry if this is old news but I couldn't find it anywhere on the site.
When did Devin Gardner get passed by 2 QBs and fall out of the top 100 on Rivals? The last I checked (admittedly a while back) he was somewhere near 50 and the top QB in this class. Now, William Gholston is up to 21 overall and two QBs (Phillip Sims and Jake Heap) are rated higher than Gardner.
Anyone know why?
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 AM ^
It happened following the all-american games I believe. I think he is now 151 overall. From what I have read, I think some of it is because the scouts said his mechanics deteriorated as the season went on.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 AM ^
Yes, this is correct. The scouts claim that the further he got away from his summer training with QB coaches, the worse his mechanics became. He had made decent progress over the summer, working with coaches and attending camps (ie Elite 11). But it seems as though he wasn't getting much help on his HS team. Hopefully all this means is that when he gets the right coaches behind him, he can improve quickly and become the QB everyone expects him to be.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^
Rivals drops Gardner because his mechanics are sub-par, and yet that wasn't enough to make Pryor or Vince Young any less than the #1 player in the country.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:56 AM ^
He played Div. 8 football in Pennsylvania. His throwing mechanics are so bad it is Atrocious. Not being a dick, but he is not the brightest tool in the shed either, so you can cross off Intangibles.... So basically he was 6'6 235 pounds and he ran a 4.4 forty and dominated lesser competition. Here is your rivals #1 QB lol
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:50 PM ^
Not to be a dick, but if you are going to insult someones IQ you might want to use sharpest tool in the shed next time.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:56 AM ^
Those scouts will rue the day...
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
When did he get "passed" by two QBs? That's punny!
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 AM ^
He's no longer a recruit. He's a student athlete at U of M. That doesn't get clicks. It's boring. Hence, throw him down at the bottom of the list.
Or that's what I tell myself from under my tin foil hat.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^
Hopefully, this is a sign that he has the real potential, but he just didn't have great coaching in high school. It also means that he really does need a redshirt. Good thing he's enrolling early.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:16 AM ^
Anyone who's actually seen the kid play more than once knows that he's a top-100 kid. At this point, the rankings don't mean anything about the player he will be in college.
He supposedly impressed more than any QB at the Under Armour game... which was enough to knock him down in the rankings. I wouldn't put too much stock into it.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
but he disappears from Rivals top 100. Go figure.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:17 AM ^
From everything that I have read since his appearance in the all-american game, the big criticism is that his mechanics have deteriorated throughout the season. This does not worry me, at all. This is more of a criticism of his coaches than of his. Also, I seem to recall RR having some success with a QB that was fast as hell but who came out of high school with crappy mechanics (Pat White). The reports on Devin is that while his mechanics are crappy (as was obvious to anyone who watched some of his recent film), his arm strength is well above average for a QB coming out of high school, so again, with proper coaching, he will be just fine. You can teach mechanics; the ability to run at close to Denard-level speed - not so much.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
There are very few Gardner-like quarterbacks beyond college. One of the things that Rivals ranks its prospects by is their pro potential. He's been compared to Vince Young, but Young has been an inconsistent NFL quarterback, at best. There aren't a whole lot of comparisons for him out there. You can look at some kids and say "Oh, he reminds me of Brett Favre" or "This kid looks like the next Aaron Rodgers," but when you say "This kid plays like Vince Young,"...well...that's not exactly a ringing endorsement of his pro potential.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
Does this mean that he's not very good anymore?
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:43 AM ^
In fact, he's become signficantly worse just in the last week. At his current rate of depreciation he will, by the time the spring game gets here, be only 5'2", with the arm strength of a ten-year-old and a 6.5 sec 40 time...He will be a feeble old man by the fall.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
Well that just ruined my day...
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:46 AM ^
and if he had not been able to EE, no doubt he would have moved up the list. It's a business decision by recruiting "experts", period. Which is why I think it comical for a poster to get excited about whether a kid "moves up" the rankings, etc.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:49 AM ^
Seems that recruits our recruits are highly rated until they commit to us, them they drop like a stone. This happened to Robinson, Jackson, Miller and now Gardner. Someone seems to have a bias against Michigan or Rich Rod.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
You might be the biggest conspiracy theorist on this board.
Michigan recruits drop, and suddenly someone at Rivals hates Michigan.
Gholston commits to MSU, and he must have taken money from them.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
Firstly, I don't know when someones thoughts leads to a conspiracy. I apologize that you didn't catch the sarcasm or attempt at humor as was the comments towards MSU. Furthermore if you read the last line of my last post, I did not say that someone has a bias against Michigan, I stated that "it seems that there is a bias". I never said that there was a bias.
That is all.
I do appreciate the knowledge that you read my posts as I do yours which I believe provide great insight.